Cockatiel or Conure?

[CowardMan]

Hello all,

I've been thinking of getting myself a little feathery friend and thought I'd ask the experts for advice. I'm thinking of getting either a Cockatiel or a Green Cheek Conure, I guess probably best to post a bit on me and what I'd like so,

living in an apartment on my own, have space I could put a "small" cage, not one of those awful plastic ones but not enough space for a big flying aviary
work 9 to 5 weekdays, most days I'm home straight after work, Fridays I try and do my errands after work so can be home a bit later that day
Go out seeing friends mostly every other week, normally afternoon/evenings on a Saturday, very rare I'm out on a Sunday

Kind of hoping for a fairly friendly bird, one that's happy to chill out on my shoulder and playing together but also okay to hang out and do their own thing with me around from what I can tell they both seem similar in that regard
Would prefer on the quieter end of the noise barrier, as I say I live in an apartment, thankfully only 1 wall is attached to neighbours which from what I can tell Cockatiels generally are on the quieter end of things preferring to just make little chirps and whistles
I have to admit I'm not the best at cleaning, I keep the place tidy but I'm not a neat freak polishing all the time, from what I've seen Conures don't really have any dander to leave around? Thankfully I'm not allergic just another thing to be cleaning you know? Though maybe having bits of bird dust might be encouragement for me to whip out the vaccuum a bit more!
Biting as much as I plan to avoid getting bitten I know it's something that will almost certainly happen, Cockatiel beaks look a little less imposing the Green Cheeks but we all know looks can be deceiving!

Thanks in advance for responses!

Also as a side note, if/when I do go pick up a lil guy I myself am a motorbike rider, I can get a lift in a car but was wondering if placing the box/travel cage for them inside one of my saddlebags with some towels to help with noise/sliding around would be okay? Would just make life a little easier but if people think it's not the right thing to do I can get a lift from friends or family

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Parrots require a lot of attention. How many hours a day will your bird be home, alone, in his cage? What are the actual dimensions of the cage you intend to get, keeping in mind that cockatiels and green cheek conures need the same size cage?
Please don't take your new bird home on your motorbike! Can you imagine how terrifying it would be for a bird to be stuffed in a dark place with road noise and vibrations? Not a good first impression at all!

 

[CowardMan]

yeah I thought biking would be a no but, never hurts to ask

an average work day I'm out just a bit over 8 hours. Haven't decided on a specific cage but ones I'm looking at are roughly

• Width: 79cm
• Depth: 52cm
• Height: 94cm
• Bar Spacing: 1.5cm
  
  That's the measurement of one of the ones I've seen but is generally the kind of size I'm looking at, Wanting something big enough that can climb about and have a good flap in with perches and toys but due to our home sizes here in the UK space is quite limited

 

[Inger]

I also ride a motorcycle as as tempting as it is to put Bumble in a saddlebag or in her birdie backpack strapped to me, it would be absolutely terrifying to her - and we have an almost 8 year relationship so she wouldn't have the "this person is all new what are they doing to me" factor.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I worry about parrots left alone for a good part of the day because they are very social creatures. They need 10 hours sleep a day. That leaves only 14 waking hours. If you're gone 9 hours a day (unless you work practically next door) that gives the bird only 5 hours max to socialize and most people aren't going to devote EVERY waking moment at home to their bird (though that would be ideal). The rest of the time he will sit there, flap, climb, eat and wait for someone to play with him. Sad.

A green cheek needs more attention than this or it may develop bad behavior out of frustration and lonliness, like biting and plucking it's feathers. The happiest most well adjusted GCCs live with stay at home parents, people who work from home, retirees and part time workers.

Cockatiels are a bit less demanding and less likely to bite and pluck. A cockatiel, especially a female because they are quieter and less outgoing and sociable than males, would be a better choice. Two hand raised baby cockatiels (both males or both females) would be my choice. Mix the sexes and you risk breeding and you don't want that!

A pair of hand tame English Budgies (large, exhibition style birds from a breeder) would be a great choice.

The cage size you're looking at is okay for either but I wouldn't go ANY smaller. I know space in the UK is tight, but I live in an 800 sf one bedroom house with my husband and I9 budgies (5 cages that size) and my budgies fly free all day, so try to get the largest cage you can.

 

[CowardMan]

yeah that's the main hurdle I'm looking at, I am only a 15 minute walk to work which is handy but like you say it's hard to dedicate the 5 hours every day to them, as nice as it would be!

Yeah looking at it Cockatiel is probably more of a match to me. getting 2 could be a potential way around the time out of the house, but I assume I would need to get a bit bigger of a cage to have 2, and I hear they can be a bit harder to have them be interactive if you have 2 at once? Definitely would go for same sex, I'm not even gonna entertain the idea of babies!

Exactly, I wouldn't be happy with them being in a smaller cage than that, from what I can see through some surface level googling it's better to have a wider or deeper cage than a taller one (though they naturally need some height in the cage) I'll have to measure up and see what kind of space I'm working with. On the upside for when out of the cage which can happily be whenever I'm home I have a split level apartment, so they have a large area they can fly around having 2 floors to move between which I can set up some perches around.

Thanks for the help!

I worry about parrots left alone for a good part of the day because they are very social creatures. They need 10 hours sleep a day. That leaves only 14 waking hours. If you're gone 9 hours a day (unless you work practically next door) that gives the bird only 5 hours max to socialize and most people aren't going to devote EVERY waking moment at home to their bird (though that would be ideal). The rest of the time he will sit there, flap, climb, eat and wait for someone to play with him. Sad.

A green cheek needs more attention than this or it may develop bad behavior out of frustration and lonliness, like biting and plucking it's feathers. The happiest most well adjusted GCCs live with stay at home parents, people who work from home, retirees and part time workers.

Cockatiels are a bit less demanding and less likely to bite and pluck. A cockatiel, especially a female because they are quieter and less outgoing and sociable than males, would be a better choice. Two hand raised baby cockatiels (both males or both females) would be my choice. Mix the sexes and you risk breeding and you don't want that!

A pair of hand tame English Budgies (large, exhibition style birds from a breeder) would be a great choice.

The cage size you're looking at is okay for either but I wouldn't go ANY smaller. I know space in the UK is tight, but I live in an 800 sf one bedroom house with my husband and I9 budgies (5 cages that size) and my budgies fly free all day, so try to get the largest cage you can.

 

[Inger]

Although not being at home 24/7 with your fid isn't ideal, they will be okay if you work. When I first got Bumble, I was out of the house for a lot of time (40 hours a week plus lunch plus long commute). The minute I got home she came out of the cage and we spent time together until her bedtime. I think she was getting about 10 hours of sleep then and I wasn't too concerned because there weren't any behavioral issues and she could always nap while I wasn't there.

Now I'm fortunate enough to work from home so she can be out most of the day. You know what she does? Naps a lot and crawls around in my hair trying to make me crazy

So don't be talked out of sharing your life with a bird because you have to leave the house to put millet on the table.

Also hopefully Gail, human servant to the Rickeybird, will pipe up and tell you about her 35+ year relationship that was often not ideal but always pure love and a strong bond.

 

[CowardMan]

yeah I think it's definitely doable, is it perfect? No, but is anything ever perfect?

Well I'll take a look at space I have and take a look at some cages tonight and build up a lil budget

Thanks for the help!

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

You will also have to detox your kitchen if you haven't done so already. That will need to be part of the pre-bird budget.

 

[Inger]

You will also have to detox your kitchen if you haven't done so already. That will need to be part of the pre-bird budget.

Whole house really. It's not just nonstick that's bad and it's not just in the kitchen.

 

[CowardMan]

Whole house really. It's not just nonstick that's bad and it's not just in the kitchen.

Thankfully all my cookware is ceramic with no teflon or PFOA, only other things I think I have that are on lists I've seen is aerosol deodorant and scented candle. I do have to sometimes use a mould killer spray which I assume is bad for them, just not sure how else I would get rid of the mould spots that appear, any tips would be great! Not sure what else I would have that's bad for them, I use a steamer for my floor and just vacuum any rugs and let the place naturally air itself with opening the windows

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

Try vinegar. It kills bad stuff and isn't toxic.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

You can buy 30% vinegar at Lowes or Home Depot (in the US). It's stronger than cooking vinegar and it's specifically for cleaning. Put it in a dedicated, labeled spray bottle. It's great for killing mold in the bathroom.

 

[CowardMan]

aha, brilliant. Yeah no lowes or home depot here unfortunately, but thankfully amazon has come through!

 

[TiredOldMan]

You can buy 30% vinegar at Lowes or Home Depot (in the US). It's stronger than cooking vinegar and it's specifically for cleaning. Put it in a dedicated, labeled spray bottle. It's great for killing mold in the bathroom.

Be careful as in confined spaces vinegar takes my breath away.
I use properly diluted F10SC disinfectant

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The nice thing about 30% vinegar is you can dilute it and a bottle lasts forever.

 

[Inger]

Thankfully all my cookware is ceramic with no teflon or PFOA, only other things I think I have that are on lists I've seen is aerosol deodorant and scented candle. I do have to sometimes use a mould killer spray which I assume is bad for them, just not sure how else I would get rid of the mould spots that appear, any tips would be great! Not sure what else I would have that's bad for them, I use a steamer for my floor and just vacuum any rugs and let the place naturally air itself with opening the windows

Make sure that you don't have appliances with hidden nonstick - air fryers, toasters, space heaters, hair heat tools, Dyson things other than vacuums (and maybe those). Candles are bad too.

Dawn dish soap, vinegar, baking soda will be your best friends.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The only Dawn to get is the regular Dawn with the ducks on the label. They make several other Dawn dish soaps that are different from the duck one.

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

The duck one has fragrance listed on the back. Is it okay? I couldn't find any original unscented.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I dont think they make unscented. Keep in mind that Dawn isn't for routinely bathing your birds! Plain water only. Dawn is the least evil grease cutter for emergencies only. Always rinse well!